Today, the conventions of architectural structural systems are largely built off of a 5,000 year old model. Most conventional buildings require much maintenance, do not make efficient use of raw materials, and depend on gravity for strength. They are largely rigid systems in pursuit of stability and permanence. But architecture faces variable societal phenomena that require flexible structure in response to a number of spatial changes. From a design perspective, we have not solved structure.

The lecture is to introduce a malleable platform for structural prototyping as well as diverse media in various scale. Through a rigorous tectonic integration of masonry and fabric formwork, the experiment explores the strictures of structural convention, politics of production, and Cartesian space. Historically, masonry technique has been a form of serial reproduction, a means to produce identical components at certain scale while fabric formwork is producing unique artifacts in an artisanal mode of production. The aim of this particular topic is to investigate the benefit of the standardized control of masonry to inform the nascent field of fabric formwork. How can fabric from-work be performative? How can industrial products be expressive?

Myung Duk Chung is a visiting researcher-in-residence at the University of Manitoba’s Centre for Architectural Structures and Technology (C.A.S.T.). He is researching new techniques of fabric formwork and its convergence with diverse medium. His interest is in co-merging softness and hardness, exploring new ways to fabricate various objects. From toy making to large installation and web-based platforms, he explores flexible materials as a malleable platform. He received Master degree of Architecture from MIT.